Help Lord! I am Saturated!

By Evangelist Paul Mershon

January 4, 2012

"And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, COME YE YOURSELVES APART INTO A DESERT PLACE, AND REST AWHILE: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat." (Mark 6:30-31)

It was with exuberance of spirit that the apostles gathered about their Lord, and told Him all that they had done and what they had taught as they went about visiting the villages of Galilee. He saw that they were perhaps too much occupied with their own success, and moreover they were somewhat overwrought because of the strain under which they had been. So He bade them leave the multitudes and retire to a quiet place and “rest awhile.” How much His servants need such seasons of quiet in company with Him! So they departed into a desert place - that is, a place in the open country away from any city or town, where they might obtain that physical recuperation and mental quiet which they needed so much. If we all took time for more such occasions, nervous breakdowns and heart-attacks would not be so common among the servants of Christ. (From, Expository Notes on the Gospel of Mark, by H.A. Ironside)

Everyone has a saturation point.  It’s just like breathing.  If all you ever did was exhale it would not be too long before you would be rendered unconscious, and eventually you would die. The human body needs a fresh supply of oxygen in order to survive, thus the importance of inhaling.  Makes sense, does it not?  You cannot continue to give out and not take in for too awful long before something is going to snap and you are going to breakdown.  When the child of God goes into overload and reaches the saturation point, this leaves that dear one spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically vulnerable.  God did create us to be a perpetual motion machine never needing rest of body and soul, but made us in such a way where we must regularly seek seasons of rest and refreshment that we might be prepared for the battle, and have the stamina necessary to go the distance as we serve the Master and transition through this pilgrim’s sojourn. 

My last pastorate was a genuine pressure cooker experience.  My ordaining church had suffered a terrible and demoralizing blow and was all of a sudden without a pastor.  I was serving as staff evangelist in another church at the time when the deacons called me and asked if I could come to help them.  I thought to help for a few weeks, and ended up staying as their pastor for three years.  This was a very difficult work, and yet it was a labor of love for me.  Due to the circumstances surrounding the former pastor (who is now serving a life-term in prison), I had a full plate in leading this church forward in light of the tragic blow it had taken.  It did not help that we had some folks in the church who did became part of the problem instead of part of the solution.  Antagonistic people never contribute to the welfare of a church.  I spent far too much time trying to put out fires that did not need to be started. 

For the better part of three years I ran hard seven days a week with my days usually running fifteen hours or more.  In addition to my pastoral duties (preaching, sermon preparation, teaching, visiting, soul-winning, writing, administration), I was also serving as the Christian school administrator, and my wife and I were providing marriage and family counseling at least three nights a week.  I was not getting anywhere the required amount of sleep.  Eventually my health began to fail and I realized I could not go on like this much longer if I was to remain effective in ministry.  In addition to all of this I was not able to spend anywhere near enough time with my wife, and that is never good.  She was serving as church secretary, and had many other ministry activities that kept her busy as well.  I eventually came to the place where I cried out, “Help, Lord! I am saturated!”  I had gotten so busy that I found myself side-tracked and well on my way to being sidelined. 

Of growing concern to me is the trend towards "busyness" I see consuming Christian people just about everywhere I travel. There has never been a generation as consumed with the disease of "busyness" as this one. Though everyone seems to be infected with this insidious cultural malady, it seems to be most prevalent and prominent amongst the servants of the Lord.

Someone recently sent to my wife the following little illustration.

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from an intimate relationship with their Savior. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have covered dish dinners, but steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Christ.”

"This is what I want to do,” said the devil: “Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout the day!”

"How shall we do this?” his demons shouted. “Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,” he answered. “Tempt them to spend, spend, spend and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day . . .”

"Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work. Over-stimulate their minds so they cannot hear the still, small voice . . .”

It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for God or their families, and having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

You be the judge, my friend. Can the little word "busy" really mean:

B - being

U - under

S - Satan's

Y - yoke

Serving the Saviour, and laboring for the cause of Christ is a worthy and just thing. We are told to work and labor diligently in God's vineyard till the Lord Jesus comes, for, " . . . the night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:4b) Surely the servant of the Lord ought not to ever be lazy, indolent, idle, or listless. We should have a clear knowledge of that which God would have us to do, and pursue that calling with joy, happiness, zeal and vigor. Nonetheless, we also need to take care that we do so with focus and balance. That would necessarily require that we learn how and when to "come ye apart into a desert place, and rest a while." If God's people, and especially God's overseeing ministers, fail to do so, they will soon become but a worn out shell of what they really need to be for Christ. The fire they once had in their soul for the work of the Lord will be reduced to a smoldering ember, then eventually a dead, cold cinder. They will have run the race, but not with patience, wisdom, or sustaining power. We hear much about "burn out" today, and that is a very real problem in the ministry. It is a very real problem in society in general, and all of God's people are susceptible to it. But, whose fault is it if "burn out" occurs? It surely is not God's! In our labor for Him He has never intended that we "burn out" in the process. He has given ample evidence to the contrary. In fact, the Apostle Paul said, "For which cause we faint not; but though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (II Corinthians 4:16-18) When He sees that we are about to step over the line in this matter of "burn out," He calls upon us to "come a part . . . and rest awhile." I believe to not do so is sin on the part of the servant of the Lord. The work of the Lord cannot be maximized in the life of a bone-weary, mentally drained, spiritually deficient Christian. A tired servant of the Lord cannot give his full attention to the work he has been called to do.

I am intrigued by the wise counsel given to Moses by Jethro, his father-in-law.

"And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning to evening? And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father in law said unto him, THE THING THAT THOU DOEST IS NOT GOOD, Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone." (Exodus 18:13-18)

Jethro was describing impending "burn out," plain and simple. To avoid the possibility of this happening, Jethro prescribed a just and wise "fix" to this problem. He counseled that Moses, " . . . provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating coveteousness." These godly men were to assist Moses in bearing the ministry burden with him in judging the minor and less weighty matters that he might be protected from 'burn out." "And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, AND GOD COMMAND THEE SO, then thou shalt be able to endure . . ." (Exodus 18:22-23) God's "burn out protection plan!" Truly, no man is an island, nor is any man designed to bear the burden of ministry all alone. I do not believe that God intended that it be that way. And, yet some good men persist! My brother, what good are you to the people God has called you to feed and lead if you are a prematurely burned out hulk? How is your ministry maximized if you have not the energy to think clearly and preach with power? What good can come from working yourself into a heart attack or stroke? Why sacrifice yourself on the altar of personal ambition in the name of the Lord? "The thing that thou doest is not good!" And, even if personal ambition is not the driving factor behind your ministry efforts, what good are you going to be to the people you love and care for if they end up attending your funeral instead of growing old with you?

"Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to PRAYER, AND TO THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD." (Acts 6:3-4)

I don't know whether it is an evolving ministry philosophy common to our day and age, or if it is an age-old trap of the Devil designed to distract those called to the pastoral ministry. Many see the pastor as a "corporate CEO" and an administrative "superman" who has been "hired" by the church to be a "Jack of all trades, and a master of none." What an insidious mistake! The pastor's biblical call and his responsibility to the church is to "feed and oversee the flock of God" (I Peter 5:2), to "rule" (to lead), to "watch for the souls" of the sheep (Hebrews 13:17), and to be given "continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4). So many in the pastoral ministry are being buried with the maintenance of plant and program that they have precious little time to emphasize what God has called them to do. With so many things vying for their attention, they are worn down to an absolute "nub." There is little energy left for ministering. Many would protest that all of the "junk" that plagiarizes a pastor's time is just "part of the ministry" today. Maybe so, but it is certainly not altogether good. Many are "growing weary in well-doing" by that which really is of secondary or tertiary importance.

A pastor said to me, "If anything is going to get done in the ministry here, I must do it." Another said to me, "I am totally consumed with my building program. If things are to get done the way I want them done, I must be on the job site often throughout the day." Another said to me, "I have little time for much of anything these days. I am a busy man with an all-consuming mission to 'build a church.'" Sound familiar? Far too many of our good pastoral servants are prosecuting their ministries as if everything rises and falls on them. Where did such a philosophy come from? Jesus NEVER called upon anyone to "build a church." He said, speaking of Himself, " . . . I will build my church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18b) I understand that statement of the Lord Jesus to mean that if it is not He Who is building the church, inevitably the "gates of hell" will prevail against it. "EXCEPT the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it . . ." (Psalm 127:1a) So, why are so many good men literally burning themselves to a frazzle trying to do that which God declares only He can do? Seems best, then, to stick to our own job description! I see today a lot of raw human ambition along with a competitive spirit, and the casualties of this mindset are many.

Many dear Christian people today, those in positions of full-time ministry and those in secular employment, are sacrificing their families on the altar of expediency. They have sacrificed their marriages, their children, and the sanctity of their homes to the false "god" of "busyness." The subtle sin of "busyness" has caused many a mother and father to be estranged from their children. Sadly, there are growing numbers of young people raised in Christian homes forsaking the God of their parents. Many are the children of pastors, and other servants of the Lord, who are forsaking the ministry the result of absentee parents. I have listened with a broken heart as children of those in ministry have sworn they would never marry anyone even remotely interested in full-time Christian service. How sad! I regularly interface with folks in ministry today who have no deep and lasting relationships with other Christians simply because they are "busy" and "have no time" to stop and develop those relationships. We even have a prominent spokesman for fundamentalism today who travels the country telling those in pastoral ministry that they do not have time to stop and fellowship with people because they must stay focused on running "the plant" and administrating "the work." "Do not let people waste your time or distract you," is the battle cry of this line of reasoning. But, the ministry IS people! My soul! What are we doing to ourselves! God has not called his servants to be "one minute managers." How self-serving and rude for any servant of the Lord to conduct a "standing one-minute interview" with a precious church member. But, this is the mindset of "busyness" today, and then we wonder why we are not seeing revival!

I submit to you that like Martha many of us are "cumbered about much serving." We are "careful and troubled about many things." But, "one thing is needful," and that is "coming apart into a desert place, and rest awhile" while we "sit at Jesus feet." We cannot be energized and fit for effective service otherwise. If we do not withdraw to fast and pray on a regular basis, and seek rest and refreshment for our body and mind, we are going to "burn out" the result of "busyness." Our ministries will suffer, our homes will suffer, our people will suffer, and the cause of Christ will suffer. A refreshed and revitalized servant of the cross can achieve so much more for Christ. There is much to be said for the sabbatical. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and many others, took annual sabbaticals, and they accomplished more for the Lord in their lifetimes than ten men put together.

The pressures of life are many. The pressures of the ministry can be staggering. That is why we need to seek the oasis of prayer and refreshment in the "desert place" of God's choosing that we might "rest awhile." The church belongs to the Lord Jesus, not to the pastor or anyone else. The ministry is a place of service, not ours to be possessed as if a self-generated avocation rather than the calling of God and the gift of the Spirit. If the servant of the Lord is to have the power of God necessary to do the work of God in the midst of the people of God, he must, at all costs, seek those times of refreshing from the Lord that will enable him to not grow weary in well-doing.